The White Sox decided to tighten up the bullpen in front of closer Bobby Jenks so they signed Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink to get the game to the closer. 27-year old righty reliever Bobby Jenks has incredible stuff as hitter’s often appear to be at his mercy. He pitched in 66 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 3-5 with 40 saves, a 2.77 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. Jenks has now pitched in 165 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 7-10 with 87 saves, a 3.26 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He has whiffed 186 batters in only 174 innings in his major league career and that shows what kind of dominating stuff he has.

34-year old righty Octavio Dotel pitched in 33 games (0 starts) last season for the Royals & Braves and he was 2-1 with 11 saves, a 4.11 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Dotel has now pitched in 428 games (34 starts) in his major league career and he is 39-32 with 82 saves, a 3.76 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He also whiffed 773 batters in only 641 career major league innings which shows what kind of stuff he has.

31-year old righty Scott Linebrink will likely handle the 7th inning for the White Sox this season. He pitched in 71 games (0 starts) for the Brewers & Padres last season and he was 5-6 with 1 save, a 3.71 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Linebrink is a solid pitcher and he will do a good job in 2008 for the White Sox.

31-year old lefty Matt Thornton will be the top man from the port side in 2008 for the White Sox. He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 4-4 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. Thornton also whiffed almost a batter an inning last season (55Ks, 56.1 innings) which shows how deep and powerful that the White Sox bullpen is.

31-year old righty Mike MacDougal will need to pitch better this season or the White Sox won’t hesitate to cut him loose. He pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 2-5 with a 6.80 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. MacDougal is a better pitcher than that though. He has pitched in 241 games (3 starts) in his major league career and he is 13-20 with 50 saves, a 4.18 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. MacDougal is effective when he throws strikes, which isn’t that often.

23-year old lefty Boone Logan will be the lefty specialist for the White Sox in 2008 and they need him to pitch a little bit better this season. He pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 2-1 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

26-year old righty Nick Masset will be the long reliever for the White Sox this season. He basically made the team because he was oout of options so there will be pressure on him to produce this season. Masset pitched in 27 games (1 start) for the White Sox last season and he was 2-3 with a 7.09 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP.

27-year old righty Ehren Wasserman didn’t make the team because he still had minor league options left. But, he will be the first reliever called up by the White Sox this season. He pitched in 33 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 1-1 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.

25-year old lefty Andy Sisco has a big time arm but he doesn’t know where the ball is going. He pitched in 19 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 0-1 with a 8.36 ERA and a 2.14 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B+

The Chicago White Sox amped up the offense in the off-season adding Orlando Cabrera and Nick Swisher. They also improved the bullpen in front of Bobby Jenks with Octavio Dotel and Scott Linebrink. So it all comes down to how well the starting pitchers do behind Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez. Sorry, but I don’t have faith in Jose Contreras, John Danks and Gavin Floyd. If I had to make this bet I would make a very small play on the under.

The White Sox enter the season confident in 2/5 of the starting rotation. 29-year old lefty Mark Buehrle is one of the sure things on the White Sox pitching staff. He started 30 games for the White Sox last season and he was 10-9 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Look for Buehrle to win around 15 games this season with the improvements made in the bullpen and on the offense over the winter.

31-year old righty Javier Vazquez finally had the season that most scouts and GMs knew that he was capable of. He started 32 games for the White Sox last season and he was 15-8 with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Vazquez was also among the league leaders with 213 whiffs in 216.2 innings. Look for Vazquez to get some Cy Young Votes this season.

36-year old Jose Contreras was a mess last season. He pitched in 32 games (30 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 10-17 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. He continues to nibble too much instead of just attacking hitters with his good stuff. Look for another disappointing year out of him in 2008.

23-year old lefty John Danks had a good first half last season before the roof caved in on him. He started 26 games for the White Sox last season and he was 6-13 with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. He has the stuff to be much better than he was last season.

25-year old righty Gavin Floyd was once one of the most highly thought of prospects in all of baseball but he continues to have trouble with major league hitters despite having good stuff. He pitched in 16 games (10 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 1-5 with a 5.27 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.

24-year old righty Lance Broadway will likely be the first starting pitched recalled if the White Sox need one. He pitched in 4 games (1 start) for the White Sox last season and he was 1-1 with a 0.87 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He started 27 games in the minors last season and he was 8-9 with a 4.65 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

24-year old righty Charlie Haeger is a knuckleballer. He pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the White Sox last season and he was 0-1 with a 7.15 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP. He pitched in 24 games (23 starts) in the minors last season and he was 5-16 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

26-year old righty Nick Masset will likely start the season as the long man in the bullpen for the White Sox this season after losing out for the #5 starter job. He pitched in 27 games (1 start) for the White Sox last season and he was 2-3 with a 7.09 ERA and a 1.98 WHIP. He also pitched in 11 games (9 starts) in the minors last season and he was 0-4 with a 4.57 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP.

32-year old righty Tomo Ohka will likely start the season in AAA ball and wait for a call from the White Sox. He started 10 games for the Blue Jays last season and he was 2-5 with a 5.79 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: C-

34-year old righty swinging RF Jermaine Dye will be looking to rebound in 2008 for the White Sox. He played in 138 games last season for the White Sox and he was 129 for 508 (.254 avg, .803 OPS) with 68 runs scored, 28 homers and 78 RBIs. Dye did play a mean RF last season as he only made 3 errors in 135 games there while showing above average range. Look for Dye to bounce back with the bat in 2008 like many of the White Sox will.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B

If Carlos Quentin wins the left field job in spring training, Nick Swisher will start in CF for the White Sox. If Quentin doesn’t win the starting job in LF then Swisher will probably move to LF to open up CF for Jerry Owens. 27-year old switch hitting Nick Swisher will likely love hitting in Chicago which is a much better park for power hitters than the one he played in Oakland last season. Swisher played in 150 games last season for the A’s and he was 141 for 549 (.262 avg, .836 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 22 homers and 78 RBIs. Swisher played in 59 games in CF for the A’s last season and he made 2 errors while showing about average range. Look for Swisher to have a fine 2008 season regardless of where he starts in the field.

27-year old lefty swinging Jerry Owens had a breakout season for the White Sox last year. He played in 93 games for the White Sox last season and he was 95 for 356 (.267 avg, .636 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 1 homer, 17 RBIs and 32 stolen bases. Owens played in 84 games in CF for the White Sox last season and he only made 1 error while showing below average range.

26-year old righty swinging Brian Anderson was once one of the better prospects in the White Sox system but he will be lucky to make the team in 2008. Anderson played in 13 games last season for the White Sox and he was 2 for 17 (.118 avg, .387 OPS) with 3 runs scored. He also played in 57 games in AAA last season and he was 51 for 200 (.255 avg, .753 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 8 homers and 31 RBIs. Anderson is a good defender but it won’t matter if he doesn’t start to hit better.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON: B